Fallout 4: The 7 Best Starting Stats

Considering that Fallout 4 was initially released way back in 2015, it is still a very popular game. Indeed, it could be argued that Fallout 4 is one of the most successful and well-liked video games of all times. Many players see it as the pinnacle of Bethesda world building.

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As with most traditional sandbox RPGs, when starting a new game in Fallout 4, the player is prompted to set up their basic stats. These stats will then be improved as the player progresses. Each stat has a different purpose, and some suit particular playing styles better than others. There are also stats, such as luck and endurance, that are important for any build.

7 Strength

Very Important For Melee Builds

• Recommended Starting Value: 3
• Perks: Mostly apply increased damage output
• Good For: Melee damage, carry weight

For new players who prefer melee combat in Fallout 4, Strength will be a very important starting stat. The higher the player’s strength, the more melee damage they will do. For every point invested in Strength, melee damage is increased by 10%.

As well as directly adding to melee damage, the Strength stat also has an impact on how much weight and how many items the player can carry. For every point spent in Strength, the player will gain 10 Carry Capacity. The Strength perk tree is also very simple for new players, as it generally only deals with adding melee damage and similar skills.

6 Perception

Very Important For Ranged Builds

• Recommended Starting Value: 4
• Perks: Quite varied, covering ranged weapon use, VATS upgrades, and other skills like lock picking
• Good For: Ranged combat, thief skills including lockpicking and pickpocketing

Fallout 4 players who prefer using powerful weapons and ranged combat over melee combat will need to have decent Perception. This is the starting stat that directly affects things such as Accuracy. When using VATS, each point spent in Perception adds 10 Accuracy, to a maximum of 95.

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The perk tree for Perception is a little complicated. It covers skills such as upgrades and improvements to VATS, but it also unlocks other skills that are not combat related. Players can spend perk points in pickpocketing and lockpicking, for example, which will never be used in combat.

5 Endurance

Health Multiplier

• Recommended Starting Value: 3
• Perks: Damage mitigation, better radiation protection, and reduced action point cost for sprinting
• Good For: Tanking more damage, better mobility, reduced radiation damage

Endurance is a very important stat when playing Fallout 4. It has two primary functions. Firstly, the more points spent in Endurance, the more health the player will have. Secondly, the number of skill points the player gains every time they level is driven by their Endurance stat.

The Endurance perk tree has some excellent skill unlocks. There are perks that will reduce overall damage taken, and also perks that will increase resistance to radiation. There are also perks that help with sprint efficiency and the number of action points taken up by performing actions, making Endurance a key stat for most character builds.

4 Charisma

Helps With Persuasion And Intimidation

• Recommended Starting Value: 2
• Perks: Improved speech checks, follower controls, and settlement management
• Good For: Avoiding combat by negotiation, persuasion, and intimidation

Some players don’t bother with Charisma at all when playing Fallout 4. It is very situational, and flies in the face of combat-focused gameplay. Put simply, players who don’t like to fight might like to try a Charisma build. However, not all combat can be avoided using speech checks.

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The higher the player’s Charisma, the more chance there is that NPCs will do what the player asks. This includes getting price reductions, buying from merchants, and maintaining a settlement community. The perk tree for Charisma simply improves the chance of passing speech checks, as well as providing new options for controlling a follower.

3 Intelligence

Better Experience Gains

• Recommended Starting Value: 9
• Perks: More item modification options and bonuses to chem use
• Good For: Any build, as intelligence has an impact on experience gain and progression

Every player starting a new game in Fallout 4 will want to pump their Intelligence stat. Intelligence has a direct impact on how much experience is gained from any source at all. This means, no matter what build a player is aiming for, high Intelligence is going to help.

Some skills, such as hacking, are much easier with high Intelligence. Unfortunately, the perk tree for Intelligence is pretty lackluster. It simply grants upgrades to the number of weapon mods that can be installed, and how large of a buff chems give.

2 Agility

Movement Bonuses

• Recommended Starting Value: 5
• Perks: Focused on stealth gameplay and small arms
• Good For: Stealth builds, avoiding damage in combat, works in conjunction with Perception stat for some weapons

Agility in Fallout 4 is primarily of use for boosting the number of action points the player has available. Action points are consumed during combat and movement, and are an important part of gameplay for some builds. For every point spent in Agility, the player is given 10 extra action points.

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Agility is also important for stealth builds, as the Agility perk tree has several stealth-focused unlocks. Furthermore, Agility combines with Perception in the game’s algorithm for calculating pistol and small arms damage.

1 Luck

Impacts Every Action In The Game

• Recommended Starting Value: 3
• Perks: Impact on loot chance and items, critical hit and defense
• Good For: Works well for every build and for players looking to maximize loot

Luck is really easy to understand in Fallout 4. It has an impact on every action the player takes. Luck has the chance to tip the balance, resulting in a successful action, or swing the other way and add a penalty. Luck has a direct impact on the critical hit meter as well while in combat.

The perk tree for Luck has some useful unlocks, primarily those that relate to loot chance and critical hit chance. Overall, Luck is a crucial stat to boost, and Luck unlocks are all beneficial in some way, regardless of a player’s build, providing plenty of utility.

Fallout 4

Released

November 10, 2015